How about a bit of "yobbery"? "Testosterone-fuelled" with some "twittishness" thrown in for good measure?

We are not talking about a gaggle of teenagers but the Prime Minister, Labour leader and their many Parliamentary cronies.

Because that - says the speaker John Bercow - is how the public views the "yah-boo" atmosphere of the House of Commons each Wednesday lunchtime.

Prime Minister's Questions needs to improve, he has warned, because the boisterous banter is alienating voters across the country.

Mr Bercow has expressed his view in a letter to the three main party leaders – David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg.

Image Caption:John Bercow at PMQs

It comes after a Hansard Society report found that only one in eight people agreed "PMQs makes me proud of Parliament". Over two thirds said "there is too much party political point scoring instead of answering the question".

In an interview with the Independent newspaper, Mr Bercow said he understood that passions ran high at the weekly bout.

He said he didn't expect MPs to behave like "Trappist monks" but added: "There are people who think culturally the atmosphere is very male, very testosterone-fuelled and, in the worst cases, of yobbery and public school twittishness." That was putting women MPs off the Commons, he added, because they are less inclined to "screech and shout".

He pointed out that the Prime Minister had himself called for an end to "Punch and Judy" politics and Mr Miliband had called for a more "rational" PMQs.

The Speaker has asked the leaders for their views but will wait to provide a full judgement on what ought to change.

In response to Mr Bercow's comments the Conservative MP for Totnes, Sara Wollaston, suggested on Twitter that the Speaker could stop calling the worst offenders to comment.